Zhuo Shi had barely finished thinking when his eyelid began twitching for no apparent reason. A surge of violent energy swept in from his side.
He whipped around and saw Lin Feng burning through every last bit of his Soul Power, frantically sacrificing his Three-Word Battle Armor to unleash his strongest Soul Skill!
"Ninth Soul Skill, Black Flame Death Ray!"
A thunderous roar exploded through the air. In an instant, the enormous phantom of a black crocodile, clad in thick scales, appeared behind him.
The Black Crocodile's eyes were bloodred. It opened its jaws wide, and a mass of black flames brimming with Destruction gathered in its mouth.
The terrifying energy warped the air around them, even sending faint ripples across space.
Feng Wuyu was just as his name suggested: utterly speechless.
Seeing yet another person like Cai Yue'er, the admiration that had only just risen in his heart vanished at once. He was about to step in and stop him when Yun Ming acted first.
A gentle yet irresistible wave of spiritual power instantly enveloped Lin Feng, disrupting the gathering of his Soul Skill and suppressing the Black Flame Death Ray before it could erupt.
Behind Lin Feng, the enormous Black Crocodile phantom slowly faded away.
His Three-Word Battle Armor retracted into his body, revealing a face as white as paper. His aura had withered to the extreme. Clearly, burning his Battle Armor only to be interrupted halfway had subjected him to a double backlash.
Still, at least he had survived.
Good news: Shrek might direct more resources his way in the future.
Bad news: Shrek was about to get blown to pieces.
Yun Ming drew a deep breath, suppressing the tangled emotions in his heart. He turned to Leng Qingning and said gravely, "Yue'er must be safe."
"Don't worry. Ling Zhao won't take her life," Leng Qingning replied coolly.
Even without Cai Yue'er, she had no fondness for Yun Ming. Her tone was less than friendly, and she had no intention of continuing the conversation.
The so-called strongest person on the continent couldn't hold a candle to An Lan.
Without meaning to, her beloved disciple's image surfaced in her mind.
Yun Ming understood. He wanted to improve relations with the Phoenix Family, but his complicated relationship with Leng Yaozhu made him reluctant to stir up trouble here and create more awkwardness.
He then turned to Yuanen Zhentian, cupped his hands, and said, "Clan Leader Yuanen, I came here after Shrek Academy students training in this area reported that large numbers of otherworldly beings had invaded. That's why I brought people to help. Now that the crisis has passed, we won't linger. We'll take our leave."
Yuanen Zhentian waved a hand. "Shrek Academy came to our aid in our time of need. My Yuanen Family is deeply grateful."
He turned to look around at the mountains, once lush and green, now shattered by the demon invasion. "But our clan has suffered a sudden calamity, and our ancestral grounds have been badly damaged. I fear we can't host you properly, so I won't ask you to stay. I'll visit another day to offer my thanks."
Yun Ming's heart sank at once.
He had intended to leave, but Yuanen Zhentian hadn't even offered a token word of invitation. His stance could not have been clearer: the Yuanen Family wanted little to do with Shrek Academy.
As for the claim that their ancestral grounds were badly damaged, Yun Ming's spiritual power was strong enough to see through it.
The Yuanen Family's grounds had suffered some damage, but it wasn't severe.
Of course, he wouldn't call Yuanen Zhentian out on it. As long as the matter stayed unspoken, they could both leave room for the other.
With that in mind, Yun Ming said no more. "Clan Leader Yuanen, farewell."
With that, he turned and left.
When Feng Wuyu and Zhuo Shi saw the Pavilion Master set off, they nodded briefly to Yuanen Zhentian and Leng Qingning before leaping after him.
Yun Ming deliberately slowed his flight. Once the rest of the Shrek group had caught up, he raised a hand, and his Soul Power tore open the space before them.
After setting their coordinates, he paused deliberately. He didn't want to run into Le Lingzhao.
Yuanen Zhentian watched the Shrek Academy group disappear into the distance, his expression unreadable.
A student report had supposedly been enough to alert the Sea God Pavilion Master. The explanation was far too flimsy.
Besides that, Cai Yue'er—and the Titled Douluo who had just burned through his Battle Armor without a second thought, acting so extremely—had shattered the rose-colored image of Shrek Academy in his mind.
Cai Yue'er in particular: hearing her title in the past, he had never thought anything of it. But now that he considered it, Silver Moon was clearly the title of Kong Deming, the head of the Sun Moon Empire's Offering Hall ten thousand years ago!
Kong Deming had been the first Level 10 Soul Engineer on the Douluo Continent, as well as the pioneer who proposed the theory of humanoid Soul Tools. The mechas and Battle Armor now prevalent across the continent had all stemmed from his theory.
To show no regard for such a senior figure's title was utterly disrespectful.
The fact that someone like Cai Yue'er could hold the position of Sea God Pavilion Elder spoke volumes about the ethos of Shrek Academy.
That was why Yuanen Zhentian had decided to keep his distance from Shrek Academy.
Once the spatial rift in the distance closed, he withdrew his gaze and turned to Leng Qingning. "Your Excellency Purple Phoenix, please come back to our clan's grounds with me."
Unlike his treatment of the Shrek group, Yuanen Zhentian extended a sincere invitation to Leng Qingning.
Leng Qingning put away her Four-Word Battle Armor and gently shook her head. "The Yuanen Family has just been through a calamity. I imagine Your Excellency Zhentian has many urgent matters to attend to, so I won't impose on you."
Yuanen Zhentian had already told her what had led to the demon invasion. She knew the Yuanen Family was beset with troubles and naturally had no wish to stay.
Yuanen Zhentian reconsidered. His people were still in a panic, and the matter of Tiandang's family needed urgent attention. He truly had no time to host a guest, so he didn't press her to stay.
He spoke solemnly. "In that case, three days from now, I'll bring my son and his family to visit and thank you in person."
Leng Qingning gave a slight nod. "Then I'll await your visit, Clan Leader Yuanen."
As soon as she finished speaking, purple light blazed around her. She turned into a streak of purple light and vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
After Leng Qingning left, Yuanen Zhentian was the only one remaining.
He spread out his spiritual power and swept the area. It immediately found Yuanen Tiandang in the distance.
He was acting like a madman, rummaging through the demons' corpses, clearly searching for Yehui.
At the sight, Yuanen Zhentian instantly flared up. He resolved to beat him so badly he wouldn't be able to get out of bed for three days.
Shangling City, Spirit Pagoda.
Leng Qingning had only just returned when Le Lingzhao arrived right behind her.
After beating Cai Yue'er, it wouldn't have been appropriate for them to meet, so when Le Lingzhao sensed the spatial disturbance, she had stopped and returned as well.
She didn't use the main entrance. Instead, she flew straight up to the ninety-ninth floor of the Spirit Pagoda.
An Lan had already opened the window, thoughtfully leaving her a "door."
Seeing Le Lingzhao return, An Lan demonstrated the phrase "out with the old, in with the new" to perfection. The "oversized purple figurine" he had been unable to put down just moments before was promptly tossed aside.
An Lan hurried over, gazing at her eagerly. "Second Master, summon your Four-Word Battle Armor quickly and let me feel it!"
Le Lingzhao glanced at Leng Qingning, who had just taken off her Battle Armor. She immediately understood that Leng Qingning had already suffered at An Lan's hands before her.
Still, she had to grant her precious disciple this little wish.
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